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Chapter 187: Sermon

Since the continent was named Ervilia, many nations and organisations rose and fell. But one of the earliest of such organisations has been standing till this day, and standing tall and strong.

The Church of Ervil.

It gave rise to the main and only religion of the continent, Ervilism. How? By slowly devouring the other existing religions of course. 

Though Ervilism was followed by everyone in the continent- well, almost everyone- the Church centred its activities in the Empire, and only the Empire.

Few of the top noble households had deep connections with this organisation- a symbiotic relationship that kept them in their position despite the dog-eat-dog environment of the nation.

And when it came to wealth, it could even give the Imperial family a run for their money. After all, donations from half the population of an entire continent was not a joke.

The Church had its branches all throughout the gigantic nation. And its Westernmost one, also one of the core ones, is none other than the one situated at the impenetrable city of Edenshield.

Generally, at the epicentre of a walled city would lie the estate of the noble household in charge of that region. But the one occupying that spot was none other than the Church, which had a long running rivalry against the nobles.

One could infer how influential those ‘peace-loving’ monks were just from this.

Moreover, there was another reason behind the power of this organisation which had all of the Empire in its grasp, its stance towards the commoners.

Though the Church discriminated against the plebeians, it was nothing compared to what the nobles do to them. It can also be said that Church was the only reason there had not been any major uprisings till now.

This organisation which had stayed stable for centuries, for the first time ever- faced its true nemesis. And unbeknownst to them, ‘it’ was at their doorsteps.

Evening.

The red sun was on its way to dip itself into the western horizon. The sky was cloudy and the ground below was wet.

As if the heavens sensed that the city was in distress, it showered rain upon it for hours. The burning scent that permeated through the air dissipated and now- the city returned to where it was before. Only a building was missing.

Four hooded figures were on their way to the Church.

It took some time for them to reach the very centre of the city from its outskirts. But soon, they had reached their destination.

A grand structure entered their sight. Just the unusual curving framework of the gigantic building was a work of art, let alone all those intricate and colourful designs that made the establishment the grandest piece of civil engineering and architecture in the city.

But that was not the end. The land scape that surrounded it was idyllic. Exquisite fountains surrounded the core building, made from complex water magic circles.

Exotic and fresh greenery added a sense of peace to the already peaceful environment.

But a glance was all Adrian gave as he walked along the gravelled pathway, his eyes fixed on the cathedral ahead.

The scar faced tall man, Halseed had a stern look on his face as he walked forward. His footsteps felt forced.

Adrian’s predecessor, Elise, was one step behind the man. Her eyes were on the architectural masterpiece, but most of her attention was on her old comrade.

Irene was the only one who was looking around. Though she did not show a hint of expression on her face, anyone who would observe her for a few seconds would be able to tell that she were akin to an excited little girl seeing such things for the first time.

They were not the only one heading for the establishment. In fact, the four seemed like a droplet in the river of people crowdin to their destination.

Every once in a month, there would be a huge congregation at the centre where a priest would deliver a sermon.

Some went for the sermon. Some commoners went for the free foods they would distribute. And some nobles just wanted to show how religious they were and hopefully, make some successful connections.

And some- had poisonous ulterior motives.

Adrian and his party got into the building without any sort of hindrance. They were not the only ones covering their face in the entire congregation. In fact, lot of them were.

Inside, it was not any less grand than what they had witnessed outside. The whole room was bright despite the darkening day outside.

The whole room gave off a golden glow. Along with it, pleasant scent that permeated through the air gave off an aura of purity.

There rows of benches arranged throughout the room, all of them facing the lectern at the front. Most of them were filled. The only ones left were the rows behind.

Above, there was a slanted balcony. It was the reserved for the nobles. How could they even think of sitting with the animals below?

The party of four took a spot at one corner of the room and sat down.

“The Bishop is here. Have you confirmed?” Adrian asked as he turned to the two members to his left.

“Yes.” Elise answered. “At least the carriage is still here. There are no evidences of the Bishop moving anywhere without that personal coach of his.” 

“Very well.” He nodded. “It would be the best if he is indeed in here right now. But if by any chance, he is hiding somewhere else- we have to go after the second in command. I cannot wait for another month.”

“The head priest should be the one delivering the sermon today.” Elise nodded. “At least we have one target confirmed.”

“But sa- boss, what are you going to do with them?” She knitted her brows. “You are not thinking of kidnapping, are you?” She swallowed her saliva. Now that she knew of this new ‘boss’ of hers, it was not an impossibility by any means.

“Do I look that rash to you?” He asked.

“Yes.” She did not hold anything back.

Soon, the entire ground floor was crowded to the brim. Not only the benches were full, there were tens of people standing at the vacant spot behind the benches. They were anticipating when the sermon would start, when would it end and finally, when would the food be served?

The balcony above was almost filled up as well. The nobles were busy chatting with other, trying to have the friendliest of smiles on their face as they attempted to lower their ‘target’s’ guards.

The chattering suddenly stopped, creating a pin-drop silent atmosphere.

Only the footsteps of a person could be heard as a middle aged man with a thick beard walked across from one side of the hall until he reached the lectern. Both of his hands were holding a heavy book.

He put the book on the lectern. Even though he tried to put the book as gently as possible, a slamming sound resounded through the room.

The man turned ahead and looked at the crowd- both the one above, and the one below- with a nonchalant face.

He looked back towards the book. A gentle smile appeared on his face as he caressed the front cover with a slightly shaking hand. His fingers skimmed through the depiction of the sun that was engraved on its surface.

He turned towards the crowd again. This time, he had a warm smile on his face.

“Welcome, children of Ervil.” His voice sounded frail, but it was warm- one that gave everyone present a sense of security. The sound magic circles were properly functioning,

“There was a time when this land had no name. All it had were people, ignorant being who did not even know what magic meant. This whole continent, which laid abundant with magical energies, was put to a waste. There was only war, diseases and chaos- things that put our whole race into jeopardy

“The ‘he’ came. Saint Ervil felt pity when he looked at the poor souls. The saint who came from above, made his mind to stay with the destitute- the ones who needed them. He landed on the earth below and stopped it all- war, anarchy, epidemic- everything” The more the head priest spoke, the warmer his voice got, the more the reverence in his eyes grew.

“He, with his own hands, taught us everything- from the language we speak today to the circles, the gateways to the world of magic, from the making of potions that saved millions of lives to the usage of magical materials that we use everyday now. 

“Even though he was not entitled to, he handpicked the most talented of children and bestowed upon them his own legacy. Legacies that shaped the world as we know today.

“He lowered himself down to our levels and spread his seeds among us lower beings. It is an honour for our beings to carry the bloodline of Ervil, the saviour and teacher of mankind.” He gave the nobles sitting above a look.

A smug smile formed on the faces of the nobles, while a gloomy atmosphere formed down below.

The bearded man then looked down. “It is our duty to protect the bloodline as this is one of the only things we can possibly do to return that favour even by a little.”

Some gritted their teeth at the ground floor. But most of them remained nonchalant. They were used to it.

Adrian yawned. “This is getting boring. Let’s make it showy, shall we?”